Therapy elements such as percutaneous leads and catheters can be implanted through the skin to facilitate the delivery of stimulation therapy or drug therapy to patients. Neurostimulation and drug therapy may be used to treat a variety of symptoms or conditions such as chronic pain, movement disorders, pelvic floor disorders, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, incontinence, gastroparesis and a wide variety of other medical conditions.
A neurostimulation system includes a stimulation device that delivers neurostimulation therapy through the leads to implantation sites proximate the distal ends of the leads. The distal ends of the leads include one or more electrodes that are electrically coupled to the stimulation device via conductors that extend along the lead body. The stimulation therapy takes the form of electrical pulses delivered at the electrodes. Neurostimulation systems are commonly used to deliver stimulation therapy to the spinal cord, pelvic nerves, stomach, or within the brain of a patient.
A drug therapy system delivers drug therapy in the form of therapeutic agents. In general, drug therapy systems include an implantable pump that delivers drug therapy via catheters having delivery regions located proximate to local therapy site within a patient.
Percutaneous leads and catheters are often preferred over surgically implanted leads and catheters because percutaneously implanted leads and catheters are implanted in a less invasive manner. For example, in order to implant percutaneous leads for spinal cord stimulation (SCS) an incision is made to ease the introduction of an introducer, such as a percutaneous needle. The needle is inserted through the incision and positioned to access the epidural space. The lead is then inserted through the needle and positioned to a desired location, e.g., within the epidural space. After the lead has been properly positioned, the needle is withdrawn and the lead is connected to a stimulation device. The stimulation device is typically implanted just below the patient's skin.